How to Save a Life
by NikkiB1973
Summary: Bella's pregnancy is killing her. Can the spirits help Jacob to save her life? Set in Breaking Dawn AU. This is my last ever J/B one shot!


**How to Save a Life**

Disclaimer: all characters and copyright belong to Stephanie Meyer.

Bella lay on her side holding her swollen belly, her eyes began to close in blessed relief as the baby inside stopped moving and became still. The intense pain she had been feeling all day lessened and with a sigh she sought sleep.

"Bella," Edward's gentle voice forced her to open her tired eyes.

"What is it Edward?" She hated the fact that she sounded irritable but she was just so tired.

Edward knelt before her and touched her cheek softly, his cold touch made her flinch and he took his hand away. "I'm sorry my love."

"No I'm sorry. It's just that I feel so cold and..."

"I'm making it worse." Edward sighed. "I didn't mean to wake you, Bella, but Jacob is here. I told him you were too tired but he insists that he wants to see you. The decision is yours though. If you want me to make him leave, I will."

Bella sat up straighter and stared at him in surprise. "Jake's here?"

"Yes." Edward waited for her answer. He hoped that she would ask Jacob to leave. It had irked him that he had just turned up. There was no need for him to be here. Bella needed rest and Jacob was disturbing that. It had taken all his self control not to force him to leave. But he knew how much Bella cared for him and so had decided to let her make the decision.

Bella didn't know what to think. A huge part of her wanted to see Jacob, but another was scared. She knew how she looked and she didn't think she could bear to see the shock on his face when he saw how much she had deteriorated. She wasn't the Bella he knew anymore, just a weak shadow of her former self.

"Bella," Edward interrupted her reverie. "Do you want me to make him leave?"

A rush of panic that this could be the last time she saw her best friend washed over her. "No. I want to see him." She said quickly.

"Are you sure?" Edward checked one last time. For the first time in days a touch of red coloured Bella's wan complexion.

"Yes, I'm sure." Bella gave him a tired smile. "Thank you, Edward. I know this is hard for you."

"Don't worry about me." Edward leaned down and pressed his cold lips to her forehead before leaving the room to get Jacob.

Bella forced her aching body to sit upright. She smoothed her lank hair behind her ears and pinched her cheeks, trying to inject some colour into her pale skin. She looked up when she heard the sound of Jacob's voice, he was saying something to Edward, she couldn't quite make out what it was. Bella knew they only pretended to get along for her sake, but she hoped that they wouldn't start to fight. Things had gone beyond that now. She kept her eyes on the entrance to the room and was rewarded when Jacob finally appeared. A soft sigh left her lips as she saw how vital and strong he seemed. He was full of life while hers was slipping away.

"Jake." Bella held out her hands to him and he immediately came and knelt before her. He took her fingers in his warm hands and she immediately felt the heat infuse her cold skin. It was like a balm to her and she gripped his hands tightly.

Jacob turned his head when he felt Edward still standing behind him. "Go." He said harshly. "I want to speak to her alone."

"Jake, please." Bella begged him. "Don't be like that."

Jacob glanced back at her. "Tell him to leave or I will."

Bella looked pleadingly at Edward for a moment. She watched him frown for a moment before nodding at her. "I'm only doing this for her, Jacob. Step out of line and I will remove you from this house." He warned him.

Jacob didn't bother to reply, he was too busy studying Bella. He was shocked by her appearance. Her beautiful brown eyes were dull, her face so thin and drawn. The dark circles under her eyes made her pale skin stand out in stark relief. Her once lustrous hair was lank and she seemed all skin and bone making her expanded abdomen seem larger than what it was. Seth was right, the thing was sucking the life out of her.

Bella could sense exactly what he was thinking she hung her head in shame. "I know I look awful." She muttered.

"Bells," Jacob sat beside her on the Cullen's leather sofa and gently touched her cheek. Bella closed her eyes and soaked in his warm touch.

"Thanks for coming, Jake. I know it must have been hard for you." She whispered. The heat from his skin was making her feel so much better. She actually felt less tired. She opened her eyes and gazed at him.

"How do you feel now, Bells?" He asked her.

Bella smiled at him as his thumb stroked her cheek, the heat continued to sink through the pores of her skin and it seemed to be easing the intense pain she had been living with since the pregnancy had started. "It's so good to feel warm again. I've been so cold."

"I'm glad you feel warm again honey." Jacob's full lips curved up into a smile and he leaned close, his warm breath ghosting over her skin as he breathed.

"It must be nice to be warm all the time." Bella whispered, her eyes dropping to her swollen belly. She rubbed it gently with her fingers.

"Bells," Jacob put his fingers under her chin and lifted her head so that she had to look at him. "I want you to come away with me."

"Away with you?" Bella cradled her belly. "That's impossible. I won't be going anywhere ever again. I'm too weak, Jake. I haven't got long. Edward is in denial but Carlisle told me the truth."

Jacob took one of her hands in his own and placed it against his cheek. Once again the warm feeling tingled through Bella's body and the coldness which had her in it's grip for so long subsided. "Can you feel it?" He asked her.

Bella stared at him. "What are you doing to me?" She asked in wonder. "When you touch me I feel so different."

Jacob smiled. "Come with me, Bells." He said again.

"But Edward?" Bella pulled away from Jacob's touch and she was instantly cold again, it seeped into her bones and the baby shifted inside, it's movement causing one of her ribs to crack. She gasped in pain.

"Bella." Jacob gathered her in his arms and held her close. Her body was immediately flooded with heat and the cold receded. The baby's movements slowed and became gentler.

She held onto his shoulders and gazed at him. "How are you doing that? When you hold or touch me I feel better."

"It's because we belong together. Your future was supposed to be with me but you chose the unnatural path and broke away." Jacob put his hand on her belly and caressed it softly. The heat that flowed from his touch seeped into her skin. The baby gravitated toward his hand and Bella stared as a small imprint of a hand touched Jacob's through her skin.

"That's unbelievable." Bella said in wonder. Jacob moved his hand across her swollen stomach and the baby followed his movements.

"He knows who his father is." Jacob took his hand away and looked at her intently. "Come with me Bella if you want to live."

XXXXXX

She was still too weak to move very much so Jacob simply carried her. He slipped silently out of the huge glass double doors that led to the extensive grounds. He looked around carefully and sniffed the air, he couldn't see any sign of the Cullens. He was surprised that Edward had actually done as Bella asked and left them completely alone. Bella's head rested on his shoulder as she closed her eyes and let his warmth infuse her soul. It was peaceful being free of the cold and the pain that had plagued her ever since she had fallen pregnant.

Jacob looked left and right as he headed toward the edge of the Cullen property where he had parked his car. It was just within his sights when Rosalie suddenly appeared in front of him, forcing him to draw to a halt. Bella opened her eyes when she felt him stop moving and she gave a resigned sigh when she saw Rosalie glaring at Jacob, her golden eyes showing her anger.

"What do you think you are doing, dog? She is too weak to be moved. You can't just come in here and carry her off. You could harm the baby." Rosalie said angrily.

"I haven't got time to argue with you, blondie." Jacob retorted. "It's what she wants so just get lost."

"Bella," Rosalie implored, edging closer. "You must think of the baby." Her eyes travelled to Bella's swollen abdomen; yearning written all over her face.

Bella clutched her belly protectively, she knew Rosalie wasn't interested in her welfare only the baby that she was carrying. With her death Rosalie would get what she had always longed for, a child. "I am thinking of the baby." She said softly. "Please just let us go."

"You'll die and take the baby with you. What did the dog say to convince you of this madness?" Rosalie demanded, her hands curling into fists.

"He told me I could live." Bella replied looking up at Jacob as she did so.

Jacob smiled at her softly before returning his attention back to Rosalie. "She belongs with me. We were always meant to be together. Cullen got in the way."

Rosalie arched her eyebrows. "You are just praying on her weakened state. Bella is devoted to Edward, there is no way she would agree to this if she was in her right mind. The child she is carrying is unique and needs to be handled with care when she is born."

"The child is mine." Jacob yelled at her. "I haven't time to waste anymore. Get out of my way."

"I won't let you do this." Rosalie said firmly. "Bella you need to come back to the house."

"No." Bella shook her head and clutched onto Jacob. "I feel better than I have in days. It doesn't hurt when he touches me. The baby feels it too, when he moves I have no pain. I feel normal."

"The baby is a girl, Bella." Rosalie was becoming impatient. "Carlisle confirmed it."

"No it's a boy." Jacob interjected. "Enough now get out of my way."

"What makes you think that you can keep her alive?" Rosalie questioned.

Jacob exchanged a look with Bella before answering. "Because she's my imprint and as long as I live, so will she."

"Imprint? Did you know about this, Bella?" Rosalie demanded.

"No, not consciously." Bella glanced back up at Jacob. "But sometimes when I was away from Edward and we were alone, I felt it."

"He's lying to you, Bella." Rosalie said sarcastically.

"No he's not. Please just let us go. You more than anyone wanted me to remain human. This could be my only chance and the baby's as well." She pleaded.

Rosalie stared at Bella for a moment as she absorbed what she was saying. "You really believe this."

"Yes." Bella said simply.

Rosalie glanced back toward the house, a faraway look in her eyes. "Go." She replied softly. "Go before I change my mind and tell Edward."

"Thank you." Bella said as Jacob began to run toward his car. He opened the passenger door and gently deposited Bella into the seat before heading for the drivers side. He got in and quickly started the engine.

"Ready?" He asked.

Bella gave him a small smile. "I'm ready."

He touched her cheek infusing her with the same warmth as before as he pulled away.

XXXXXX

Billy was shocked to see Jacob enter the house carrying a very pregnant Bella. She looked thin and very pale, but already there was a hint of colour in her cheeks. He opened his mouth to say something but a stern look from his son rendered him silent. Jacob headed for his room and carefully lay Bella on his bed. She glanced at him uneasily, she had seen the look on Billy's face. She thought Jacob had told his father what he was planning. Did he actually have one? Or had Rosalie been right and he just wanted to get her away from Edward. She had been so happy just to feel warmth and no pain when he was near that maybe she had allowed him to persuade her to do the wrong thing. But was it wrong when she felt so much better being with him? She cradled her belly and felt the baby move back and forth.

"Billy doesn't know?" Bella questioned Jacob.

"No, I never had time to discuss it with anyone. I have been on a vision quest, Old Quil sent me. It had to remain a secret, even from my own father. I was desperate to know why the imprint was never completed between us. The spirits told me what to do. I headed straight for the Cullen's to get you away from them. We do not call them leeches for nothing, Bells. Just being in their presence sucks the life out of people." Jacob knelt beside her and placed his hand on her belly. As before the baby gravitated toward his touch and a small outline of a hand could be seen against his.

Bella placed her hand over his and the warmth shot up her arm making her skin tingle. She saw the wan pallor of her skin dissipate and a healthy pinkish glow appear. She looked at Jacob in wonder. "How are you doing this?"

"It's because of our connection, Bells." Jacob smiled at her happily. She hadn't seen him so at peace in a long time. Not since Edward had come back into her life and turned it upside down.

"The imprint? I never realised that we were connected in that way, you denied it to me once." Bella recalled.

"Ours is not a classic imprint, honey. I wasn't lying that day. We hadn't imprinted then, you were in denial and I couldn't break through. On the mountain top, I thought maybe you had lowered your defences enough, but Cullen was still near and you were very much under his influence. Maybe if I hadn't had to leave you to go and fight things would have been different. You are so stubborn, Bells." Jacob replied. He put his hand over her heart and she gasped as it sped up, more heat poured through her as if he was breathing life into her body.

"Jake, I can feel it." Bella whispered. "I feel so different."

Jacob grinned happily. "You are different. You're my Bella. Look in the mirror."

Bella slipped off the bed and onto her feet, she no longer felt unsteady. Her skin which had been so cold now felt warm to the touch and her heart was beating strongly in her chest. She made her way over to the wardrobe and looked in the floor length mirror at her reflection. "Jake, I look...I look well."

Jacob stepped behind her and put his hands on her shoulders. "You are well, honey."

Bella looked at herself again. Her pale skin was glowing, a hint of pink in her cheeks. The dark circles under her eyes had gone and the lifeless look was missing from her brown eyes. Her hair had regained its shine and was flowing down her back. She touched her face, not able to believe what she was seeing. "Is this really me?"

"It's really you." Jacob kissed the top of her head.

"And the baby?" Bella frowned as she turned to face him. "You said he was yours, how can that be, Jake?"

"Because you finally let me in. That one decision changed everything. You were supposed to be mine, you are my soul mate, Bella. You said it yourself once, remember when you came to see me after I was injured. You told me that I was the natural path that your life should have taken. I am only half a person without you. We complete each other." He said earnestly.

"And it was always that easy?" Bella questioned. "All the suffering we all went through could have been avoided if I had just let you in."

Jacob took her face in his hands and tilted her head so she had to look into his eyes. "Fate played out as it had to. I needed to become a stronger person myself and accept my destiny. Trying to win you was the spur I needed to accept my position as Alpha and one day future chief of the tribe. I was afraid, Bella, I may not have shown it but I was. I was afraid that I wouldn't be able to deal with the huge responsibilities that come with the role. Losing you made me fight, I realised that I did have it in me to be the strong leader that everyone needed. It forced me to confront who I was as a person. Loving you makes me strong."

There was a knock on the door, interrupting their moment. Jacob sighed and opened it. Billy wheeled his chair in and stared at Bella as he took in how different she looked from the frail figure he had seen his son carrying into the house. His eyes travelled to her swollen abdomen. "Will someone explain to me what is happening here?" He demanded.

XXXXXX

"That is where you have been, on a vision quest?" Billy ran a hand over his face as he tried to take in what Jacob was saying. It all sounded so improbable; but then their whole lives were one big supernatural fairytale. Vampires and spirit wolves were the stuff of legends to other people, but to them it was reality.

"Yes, our ancestors showed me what to do. Now Bella has chosen me, the path that was broken has now been fixed. She's mine and so is the baby. It was always meant to be this way." Jacob explained.

"What did you see on this quest?" Billy had never needed to go on one, although he had considered it when Sarah had died. He was angry at the spirits and wanted an explanation why she had been taken from him. Old Quil had told him he would learn nothing if he held anger and bitterness in his heart. Billy had never been able to let those emotions go in regards to the loss of his wife.

"That is something I can never reveal." Jacob said regretfully. "The information was personal to me and I am not allowed to divulge it."

"Just answer me this," Billy pleaded with him. "Was one of your spirit guides your mother?"

Jacob didn't answer verbally, the spirits had forbidden him to, but by the intense light in his eyes Billy guessed that his assumption was correct. The heavy sadness that he carried around daily seeped away from his heart as the thought that Sarah, wherever she was, had been watching over their son all this time.

XXXXXX

"This is impossible." Edward cried out as he paced back and forth in front of his family. "How did he manage to keep his plans hidden from me, and Bella just went with him?"

Carlisle sighed and put a calming hand on his son's shoulder. "I spoke to Rosalie, she saw them leave, Edward."

"Then why didn't she stop them?" Edward demanded. "Is that why she's hiding from me?"

"Emmet has taken Rosalie away for a while. You know how much this baby meant to her especially. It was not easy for her to just let Bella go with Jacob." Carlisle said gently.

"Bella is ill, Carlisle. We need to get her back where she'll be safe. Why are you delaying things?" Edward gazed at his mentor in despair.

Esme rose from her seat and put her arms around Edward comfortingly. Alice was standing by Jasper, fidgeting nervously. Edward's eyes locked onto her. "I can't read anyone's mind. Why are you all blocking me?"

Jasper put his arm around Alice and stared over at Edward. Out of all the members of the family, the two of them were not particularly close, but Edward could see a smidgeon of sympathy in his eyes. "Bella contacted me, Edward." He admitted.

"You? Why?" Edward asked in disbelief. He began to surge forward but Carlisle and Esme held him back.

"She wanted to speak to someone impartial and slightly removed from the situation. She is better, Edward. I cannot put it more bluntly then that. The sickness that was plaguing her while she was here is gone, in fact she was glowing with health and is no longer in danger from the pregnancy. It now seems to be progressing normally." Jasper informed him.

"That's impossible. The baby is mine." Edward's voice was weak as he read Jasper's mind. He had let down his barriers so that Edward could see Bella for himself.

"Alice?" Edward turned to her. "What can you see?" He begged her.

"Nothing. I can't see Bella at all. I'm sorry, Edward." Alice hid her head in Jasper's shoulder.

Edward fell to his knees and began to keen. He couldn't cry real tears but he was close. Carlisle and Esme knelt beside him. "Fate has come full circle my son. Bella's life has switched back to the path she was meant to take. I am so sorry. I wish it could have been otherwise." Carlisle said gently.

"You always wanted her to remain human, Edward." Esme stroked his hair back from his forehead. "I think deep down you always knew."

Edward managed to regain some semblance of control as he nodded. "I love her so much." He choked out. "I will never love again."

Carlisle and Esme held him as he broke down.

XXXXXX

Bella's marriage to Edward Cullen was dissolved by mutual agreement and the whole Cullen family left Forks soon after. Bella did not see any of them again, thinking it best for everyone that she kept her distance. She spoke to Carlisle briefly on the phone before they left and he assured her that he would look after Edward and bid her to take good care of herself. Bella cried in Jacob's arms when the call was over, despite everything the Cullen family had been a huge part of her life and in some ways she would miss them.

The pregnancy proceeded in a normal manner. Bella glowed the whole way through and went full term. The hardest part had been telling Charlie. He had no knowledge of the supernatural world that surrounded him in Forks and he had been left speechless when he saw how far gone Bella was. He tried to do the maths in his head but nothing added up. He went on a long drinking session with Billy, the two of them having a long conversation. Whatever Billy said to Charlie during this time made a difference. He seemed to have come to the conclusion that what he didn't know wouldn't hurt him. He was just glad to have his daughter back and Cullen out of her life.

Bella gave birth to a healthy baby boy who was the image of Jacob. They named him after their own fathers. Charlie, Billy Black thrived and grew into a healthy and strong willed toddler. Just after his second birthday, Jacob and Bella got married. It was a quiet ceremony held on First beach, with just the pack and their father's in attendance.

Jacob looked into his new wife's beautiful brown eyes as he leaned down to kiss her. His arms winding around her as he picked her up swung her around. "I love you, Mrs Black." He whispered when the kiss was over.

"I love you more." Bella said back to him. The wind whipped her hair around her face as Jacob led her proudly down the beach to join their family and friends, little Charlie running to meet them.

Far away where no one could see her Sarah Black smiled as she watched her son, his wife, grandson and her husband huddle together as Charlie took a picture of them. "Live your life in peace my son." She murmured to herself as she began to back away toward the light.

Billy happened to glance toward the end of the beach and saw a faint light shimmer in the air. He saw the retreating figure of a woman with long flowing black hair disappear within it. In a blink of an eye she was gone. A tear fell down his weathered cheek as he realised the spirits had finally shown him that his Sarah was okay.

_**A/N-thanks for reading. This is my last ever Bella/Jake one shot! :)**_


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